S.Africa declares four-day national mourning for last white President de
Klerk
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[November 16, 2021]
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South
African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday declared four days of
national mourning for South Africa's last white President FW de Klerk,
who died on Thursday at his home in Cape Town after battling cancer.
De Klerk, who is credited with overseeing the peaceful transition from
white-minority rule in South Africa to a Black-majority government led
by Nelson Mandela, died on Thursday at the age of 85.
After South Africa's first all-race vote in 1994, he served as a deputy
president in a "government of national unity".
"President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared that the National Flag be flown
at half-mast as a mark of respect for the late former Deputy President
FW de Klerk," a statement from the President's office said.
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The four days of mourning would start at sunset on Nov. 17, it said.
Though, globally he has won praise as a key figure in the ending of
apartheid, at home de Klerk's legacy remains controversial.
Many Blacks were angered by his actions during apartheid and his failure
to curb political violence in the turbulent years leading up to the 1994
election. Right-wing white Afrikaners, who had long ruled the country
under de Klerk's National Party, viewed him as a traitor to their causes
of white supremacy and nationalism.
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![](../images/111621PIX/news_x47.jpg)
Former South African President FW de Klerk addresses a news
conference in Cape Town, July 26, 2007. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings
(SOUTH AFRICA)
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There was widespread speculation about whether he
would be given a state funeral, which could have led to protests,
but the De Klerk Foundation said on Sunday that his funeral would
take place on Nov. 21 in a private ceremony.
"Government will at a future date host a State Memorial Service in
remembrance of the former Deputy President," the statement from the
Presidency said.
The government has consulted the De Klerk family and the FW de Klerk
Foundation as part of the preparations for this event, in which
government leaders, leaders of political parties and representatives
of civil society would participate, it added.
(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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